Assembly housing committee advances slate of housing bills, including CEQA infill exemptions and homelessness funding plan

The Assembly Committee on Housing and Community Development on Oct. 26 heard hours of testimony and moved a suite of housing bills ranging from a study of whether small multifamily projects should be regulated under the residential code to a proposed statewide financing plan to address homelessness.

The committee advanced bills to the next committees with votes or motions on several measures. Lawmakers and witnesses framed the hearing around the cost of construction, local permitting delays, and persistent homelessness: supporters urged faster, clearer rules to spur infill housing and longer-term, predictable funding to stabilize affordable housing and reduce homelessness.

Why it matters: committee members said California’s housing shortage and high costs are driven by regulatory uncertainty, rising construction costs and insufficient long-term funding. Supporters argued that statutory fixes to permitting and targeted investments would both accelerate housing production and protect vulnerable residents; opponents raised concerns about community input, displacement, tribal consultation and specifics of implementation.

Most prominent items and testimony

AB 6 (Ward) — residential-code study for “missing middle” housing: Assemblymember Ward presented AB 6 to direct the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) to convene a working group to study whether three- to 10-unit developments can be built under the California Residential Code rather than the more burdensome California Building Code. Mia Kang of the Council of Infill Builders testified: “It is today easier to build and get permits for a massive luxury home than it is to build a fourplex.” Jonathan Pacheco Bell of the Casita Coalition said the measure is a “data‑driven approach” to unlock more small-scale housing. The bill was discussed at length and the author accepted committee amendments; committee members expressed urgency about timelines and alignment with overlapping Senate bills.

AB 48 and AB 76 (Alvarez) — higher-education facilities bond; Chula Vista university site: Assemblymember Jose Alvarez presented AB 48, a proposed state bond to modernize UC, CSU and community college facilities and to allow student and employee housing as an allowable bond-funded use. UC and CSU witnesses described multi‑billion dollar backlogs; Alvarez said campuses face a “combined $17,400,000,000 deferred maintenance backlog.” Alvarez also presented AB 76 to clarify a Surplus Lands Act exemption for the City of Chula Vista’s University Innovation District; city representatives said the change preserves entitlements assembled over decades. Committee members pressed for later specificity on housing set‑asides and allocation amounts. Both items were moved forward by the committee.

AB 595 (Carrillo) — homeownership tax credit pilot: Assemblymember Carrillo said AB 595 would create a state pilot to incentivize…